Computing devices are no longer just servers, desktops, and laptops, but also can be found in phones, watches, and even eyeglasses. Many appliances around the home now incorporate a growing array of computing functions, such as thermostats that can be programmed remotely and refrigerators with touchscreens for looking up and displaying recipes. The ideal smart home is composed of numerous networked smart appliances that can be controlled over the home network and can perform a variety of tasks for enhancing a home's convenience and safety, including turning on security cameras automatically when a user leaves, matching a sound system's volume level to the genre of movie being watched on the television, and texting a user when the oven has finished pre-heating. Every day this ideal is moving closer to becoming a reality and with this new reality comes new challenges in ensuring that smart homes are secure from threats.
Unfortunately, traditional systems for securing networks from attackers are typically designed with desktops and servers in mind, not toasters and stereos. Smart appliances may not be designed with the kind of robust individual security expected to be found on more traditional computing devices, potentially leaving these devices—and the home network on which they operate—open to attacks and exploits. Accordingly, the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a need for additional and improved systems and methods for protecting purpose-built appliances on local networks.